I'm working on plans for some small racks, and I saw some pictures posted a while back, I think by Drew. My question is about materials. Ive seen 1x12's mentioned several times, which measure approx 11.25 inches in width. 1x10 boards measure 9.25 in. Bottles I've measured tend to be between 11.25 and 12.25 with necks of asst size. I wonder if 1x10's would be wide enough with the necks sticking out, or if there could be a stability issue. I'm thinking 14" space for cases at bottom, maybe 36 in for some diamond rak with a few shelves at top about 4+/- in apart. I have a couple 1x10 on hand but don't want to make something that may collapse! Maybe I'm over engineering, but with the price of pine...Thoughts? WP

Drew's racks seem to be working well for him.<P>My experience with diamond bins didn't work so well. I used 1/2" or maybe 9/16" plywood and formed a box of 12" wide plywood planks.... found that a bin to hold a full case of Bordeaux-sized bottles needed to be 14" square, and that led to making a plywood frame some 50" on a side. Used 1/4" plywood as backing of the box for stability, and reinforced some interior corners with pieces 1"X1"X12". A full rack held 14 cases/168 btls, with some bins holding 12, some 6 and some 3 btls. Had seven such racks at one point, with numbered tags above each bin to indicate contents on a log sheet.<P>Didn't like it.... didn't provide for air circulation around the bottles, and frequently wound up with mixed bottles in some bins, leading to confusion. Also found that Burgundy/Pinot Noir/Champagne btls didn't like such bins at all. Tore 'em all out and replaced 'em with $57 welded rod racks from Sam's Wholesale with equivalent capacities that allow excellent air circulation and much better visibility without the need for numbered tags. Using seven of those at present.

WP, if you have an Ikea near you take a look at their wine racking. You have to assemble but it's easy and I think very good quality given the low price tag. Diamond bins can be tricky with burgundy shape bottles but handle cab style very well. I thought in the beginning when planning my cellar to build from scratch but the Ikea racks are perfect. My cellar area is passive and in an area of my basement that measures approx 15'x 30'. Racking and bins hold 700+ and the overflow stays in wooden boxes and full cases. Total cost was under $300.00<P>Drew

Thanks Drew, I'm not familiar with the Ikea store. Perhaps a googleing I shall go. My cellar is also passive but not nearly as large. While only 26" in depth, I do have horizontal and verticle expansion room if and when I need it if I can just get rid of the kids toys some day! WP

A quick drive up to baltimore or College Park Ikea Stores will quickly show you what it looks like as they wil have it installed in their place to show you. it can be stained to match anything you want too....though does staining cause problems with aging wine? Always worried about fumes to the point where I don't really have any other finishes on. I worry that what is in the air will end up in the wine as it breaths and I'm not sure how it will interact. If I paint, I have a huge fan to push air through to get rid of all odors ASAP. Anyone with thoughts on this?<BR><p>[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 05-06-2007).]

I used 1"X12" pine tongue-in-grooved into 20" diamonds and didn't put any finish on them. I decided on this after going into many of my friends cellars who used red-wood for their racking and found many of their older bottles were definately affected by the aroma. Had this sucker in place since 83 and no problemos. WW